Supreme Court marriage rulings will have little impact on Texas same-sex couples - for now

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Sarah Hoffman/Staff Photographer

Frank Garza waved the Texas flag on Wednesday as members and allies of the Dallas lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community gathered for the Day of Decision rally at the Legacy of Love Monument in Oak Lawn. The rally commemorated the Supreme Court's rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and on Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriages.

The predictably sharp split on the decisions handed down by the high court confirmed marriage equality for gays and lesbians remains a bitterly divisive issue in Texas.

For now, though, the decisions will have limited impact on the state’s gay and lesbian couples, political experts say.

“Texas still bars couples from same-sex marriage, and this decision doesn’t change that,” said Cary Franklin, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office declined to comment on the effect of the rulings.

One Democratic lawmaker, Fort Worth state Rep. Lon Burnam, immediately vowed to reintroduce legislation to legalize same-gender marriages in Texas. The state became the 19th to adopt a constitutional ban of same-sex unions in 2005.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to refile my marriage-equality bill, and that’s the first thing I will do on Monday,” said Burnam, who filed a similar bill in February that died in committee.

The bill cannot advance in the Texas Legislature’s special session unless Gov. Rick Perry, an ardent opponent of same-sex marriage, adds it to the agenda.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there.

UT’s Franklin said the high court’s rulings may inspire lawsuits, anti-discrimination policies and scrutiny of same-sex marriage bans nationwide.

“People in Texas didn’t immediately gain any rights, but the court issued a decision that talked about the importance of equality for couples,” she said.

Ken Klukowski, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Washington-based Family Research Council, said the Supreme Court’s decision “will open the floodgates to litigation.”

“There are so many legal issues where marriage comes up and we’re such a mobile nation,” he said. “The opportunities for legal and public-policy conflicts are limitless.”

The Rev. Dawson Taylor, executive minister of the Cathedral of Hope in Oak Lawn, said the decision foretells a day when same-sex marriages will be honored across the country.

Among the nation’s largest predominantly gay and lesbian congregations, the church has held same-sex marriage ceremonies since it opened in the 1970s.

“God smiles on the weddings that we perform,” Taylor said. “They are equal in the eyes of God, and that’s what we recognize.”

Two weeks ago, Taylor presided over his first legal same-sex wedding ceremony when he flew to New York to marry a gay couple from Austin.

“It was an exhilarating experience,” he said. “I wish every person who was opposed to marriage equality could have been there.”

But other churches lamented the court’s decision, labeling it a threat to traditional values and the definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas joined other U.S. bishops in calling the court’s rulings “a tragic day for marriage and our nation.”

The Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas said the Supreme Court devalued marriage and “caved in to political correctness.”

“Our government has always recognized the right to restrict marriage in some ways,” he said. “Polygamists can’t marry. Siblings can’t marry. Fifteen-year-olds can’t marry.”

The Rev. William Lawrence, dean of Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, said he expects many pastors will address the court rulings in sermons Sunday.

The United Methodist Church, which oversees the Perkins School, prohibits same-sex marriage. But not all congregants agree, he said.

“There will be people who think the Supreme Court got it right and some who believe the Supreme Court got it wrong,” Lawrence said.

After a celebratory rally Wednesday night at the Legacy of Love monument in Oak Lawn, Jacob Gerber got down on one knee and proposed to Brandon Kirk, his partner of six years.

The couple had a marriage ceremony two years ago at the Cathedral of Hope, but now that their union would be federally recognized, they plan to wed in a state that allows gay marriages.

The couple, wrapped in a rainbow-colored flag, hugged and said the fight for gay rights has a long way to go.

“Texas is next. We still have a lot of work to do in our local governments,” Gerber said. “We’re such a huge state. It’s going to be a big fight for us.”

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